You say:
“And I switched from Cruz to Trump not because I find him to be more Christian-acting than Cruz.
If you take just all that Trump has said and done over the last five years or so, and consider his statements such as that he doesn’t believe he’s ever done anything that needs God’s forgiveness, it’s clear he’s been liberal and humanist minded.
Now, he’s either having some change of heart, or for reasons unknown, he is willing to be a voice for evangelical Christians/conservatives.”
WHAT?
So he’s switched his rhetoric in the past few years, with the goal of becoming President - and you’re willing to bet our Country that he’s changed his spots?
But the most confusing of what you say is: “...for reasons unknown, he is willing to be a voice for evangelical Christians/conservatives.”
He is ‘WILLING to be a voice for...” How magnanimous of him!
My tag line: A Christian is as a Christian does - “By their works...” (I’m not ‘speaking for God’ - just quoting the Bible)
Wouldn’t it behoove us us, when choosing a president - most particularly at this perilous time - to look at their ‘works” - HONESTLY?
Most of you won’t even look at Trumps past and his life style , his flip flops - wherever he feels the winds can be take advantage of , no matter where they blow from -
Let alone take at look at what Cruz has done - particularity in defending the Constitution - for example, for our gun rights and for our vets - He doesn’t hold his finger in the wind to make a decision, he looks to the Constitution, and holds to it, no matter the odds.
You people claim to want a Conservative? Yet ignore that Cruz has a 100% lifetime rating from the ACU, a 97% rating from Conservative Review and a 100% rating from Heritage Action.
His rating with the NRA is A+
Cruz won the CPAC (CONSERVATIVE Political Action - lest some forget) straw poll with 40% to Trumps 15%
I pray, for the sake of our Country, that some of the Trumpers will at least LOOK at facts, however uncomfortable they are. And judge the man they pick by his life-long - proven record rather than by their latest soundbite.
Time to be honest with ourselves, folks.
Like. We need a like button.
I am not a “Trumper.”
I have not been attacking Ted Cruz or his supporters here, not even once.
Instead I’ve both wanted and written that I’d like to see both sides tone down the attacks and instead criticize Democrats and secular humanists. If they’d do that, we could see who can best address the opposition.
And I’ve consistently defended both Cruz and Trump where it seems right to, but also have expressed concerns about both.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3385693/posts
As I said, I’ve been supporting Cruz and only recently did I decide to vote for Trump as the nominee. I was also up to the moment that I would vote going to keep considering who to vote for, and I might have still voted for Cruz at the last moment.
Now, I can see why you found what I wrote confusing.
It was confusing because this a complex matter, and I never directly said “this is why I switched to Donald Trump.” I was writing quickly and forgot to do that, but knew that I had mentioned some reasons for why I did. I didn’t have the time to write an essay, but instead shared some thoughts and observations.
I also didn’t mention some of the concerns I’ve had about Ted Cruz. I knew they had already for the most part been brought up in discussions here. Just for a couple, that one of his top donors is a homosexual activist, and he also says things to donors in private that are different from what he publicly says.
- None of the candidates, including Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, so much as mentioned Texas prosecutors going after the Center for Medical Progress. They hardly mention defending religious freedom, if at all.
- There are all sorts of situations they could choose to highlight and give national attention to, since they are leaders, running for president, and have the spotlight, but for the most part, they haven’t.
So we’ve had President Obama and Hillary Clinton coming right out with partisan comments every time there’s a new supposed injustice that turns into a Twitter firestorm, while Republicans say little to nothing in response.
Obama and Clinton instantly called the Ahmed Mohamed incident “Islamophobia” and the media was right there with them. No one called it a possible “rush to judgment.” What have the Presidential candidates done to set the record straight and represent the viewpoint of all the people out there who believe the incident was partisan and distorted by the left and the media? THESE are the very sorts of things that set the course for our nation.
To the extent that Republicans have spoken out, though, is why they have some popularity - people hope they will keep talking and say more things that need saying, which the media suppress and Democrats lie about.
Our leaders are the “framers” of issues and stories. They are our primary “judges” (as Solomon and other kings judged matters) and “educators” on the worldly level. They are to study the issues, come to conclusions, and to report to the people, telling the people what they think we should do and why. Those are the justifications for their policies. They largely “shape” what our country considers reality.
I’ve also been disappointed to see how both Cruz and Trump (and the rest of the candidates) are willing to parrot liberal attack lines straight out of the MSM and Salon etc., apparently for their own self-advancement. That is trying to win a personal battle by jeopardizing the war, in my opinion.
I take an evangelistic approach to politics. That means what developments will serve to prepare the way for the Lord in our country, and, as far as our country has influence beyond its borders, around the world?
One thing that does is having incidents like the one with Ahmed Mohamed discussed honestly. So many people support Trump at least somewhat because he has said some of the things that have needed to be said, and not backed down. Remember how the left did the usual thing of trying to hurt him financially with boycotts and it turned from NBC dropping Miss Universe to having him on-air again just months later.
But Trump didn’t do this. People who support things he’d said did. That’s who corporations were responding to.
And while leaders, including the President, have some power, the country is not exclusively run by them. It’s also run by the people and what we do in our everyday lives. For Christians, that means being evangelistic, and trying to use what God has given us in order to introduce people to the Lord, and prepare them for Him.
What can we do, then, with what God has given us to be salt and light, and make the way easier for other people to come to know the Lord, while secular society does whatever it can sow confusion, ignorance and rebellion, in order to make it harder for people to come to know Him?
God chose Israel to be a people who would know Him, and be a nation of priests.
God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Lord.
Jesus sent His disciples before Him to prepare the people where He was going to go to next for Him coming.
Satan knows this and does everything he can to make people unprepared and hostile to God. So I see the Christian’s approach to politics at this time as working for what will help prepare people to receive the Lord.
As I said, Donald Trump on the face of it doesn’t appear to be a Christian, but he has showed willingness to protect and promote the political power of evangelical Christians. His popularity isn’t about him, but that willingness, which so many other leaders have passed on. It’s a willingness to stand up for Christianity. Even many religious leaders haven’t had that.